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' W. 0. WILSON. DAMPING AND ERASING DEVICE.

(No Model.)

N0. 564,238. Patented July 21, 1896.

INVENTOR WITNESSES:

UNITED STATES PATENT FFI'CE.

WILLIAM C. WVILSON, OF BROOKLYN, NEW' YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO FRANCIS RAYMOND, OF SAME PLACE.

DAMPING AND ERASING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 564,238, dated July 21, 1896.

Application filed January 4, 1896. Serial No. 574,295, (No od l.)

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM C. WILsoN, a

citizen of the United States,residing in Brook lyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Damping and Erasing Devices; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, makin g a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional View of an implement made according to my invention; Fig. 2, a view of one end thereof; Fig. 3, a View of the opposite end thereof, and Fig. 4c a side view of the same.

This invention relates to that class of implements designed principally for desk or office use and designed for dampening the gum of envelop-flaps, postage-stamps, &c., for erasing clerical errors in writing, for opening letters and the like, and generally for facilitating clerical labor and the small items of more purely mechanical OlfiOG-WOlk.

The object of my invention is to provide a device of the class mentioned by which the various and multifarious operations above indicated may be readily performed, which will be simple in construction, reliable in its several applications to use, and capable of long-continued use without replenishing or repairs.

My said invention comprises certain novel combinations of parts by which said object is, in a high degree, secured.

A is a cup into the contracted top or opening a of which is screwed atube B, upon the upper end of which is slipped a cap 0. Upon this cap is a curved, crescent-shaped, or other suitable knife or scraper D, which is so provided as to be capable of use as a scrapingeraser. At the bottom of the cup A is a circumferential flange b. Secured in any suitable manner within this flange is a disk or, preferably, as shown in the drawings, an annulus F of india-rubber of the kind and character commonly employed for erasing pencil-marks, &c. The preferred annular form of this india-rubber eraser F aifords inner and outer circumferential angular edges 0 and d, which by their acute rubbing action insures a much more effective erasing action upon pencil-marks and the like than is afforded when a simply fiat disk form of such eraser is employed. To provide for the easy 5 5 attachment and detachment of the tube 13 from the cup A,it is desirable that the outer surface of the tube be roughened to enable the fingers of the operator to more firmly grasp it in turning it to screw or unscrew the same, as the case may be. It is also desirable that the said outer surface of the tube, being as it is exposed prominently to view, should be made available for advertising purposes.

I secure both conditions by providing upon said surface, in raised letters, as at f, any desired reading matter. This may be done by suitably stamping the sheet metal of which the tube is composed. \Vithin said tube, preferably extended at its inner end prac- 7o tically to the bottom of the cup and at its outer end projecting beyond the outer end of the tube, is a porous wick E, which may be of felt wound upon itself to a cylindrical form, or of any other suitable material.

The cup A, when the device is ready for use and operation, is filled with water or other desired or suitable liquid to be used in damp- With its several parts thus coordinately arranged the device is capable of manifold convenient uses. Thus by grasping the tube B with the fingers the angular edges of the rubber eraser F may be conveniently applied to and rubbed upon surfaces bearing penciled 8 5 or other lines to be erased by rubbing thereby, while by still holding upon said tube, but simply reversing the implement, the plate D may be applied to purposes of erasure by scraping. Again, by simply removing the cap 0, and thus exposing the projecting outer end of the Wick, with the fingers grasping the tube as just mentioned, the said end may be applied as a damp brush to the gummed surfaces of postage-stamps, of letter-envelops, 5 newspaper-wrappers, and the like, to moisten the same thoroughly and expeditiously.

By retaining the cap in place upon the tube when the wick is not in use the latter may be kept moist for an indefinite time, while said I00 cap serves the purpose of so affixing the blade or scraping-eraser D to the tube that the latter, as hereinbefore explained, is enabled to provide the means by whichsaid eraser is applied to its work.

WVhat I claim as my invention is 1. The Combination with the cup, A, for containing liquid, and a rubber eraser, F, at the bottom of said cup, of a flange, b, for attaching said eraser to said cup, a detachable tube, B, extended from the top of the cup to form a means for manipulating the eraser, and a porous wick placed in the cup and tube and extended beyond the latter to provide a dampening-brush capable of manipulation or application to use by means of the tube and a removable cap for preventing evaporation of liquid from the wick, all substantially as herein set forth. 7

2. The combination with the cup, A, for containing liquid, the tube, B, screwed into the top of said cup and roughened by raised reading matter upon its external surface, of a porous wick placed in said cup and tube and projected beyond the latter, a cap for preventing evaporation of liquid from said wick, and a rubber eraser attached to the bottom of the cup, all substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

3. The combination with the cup, A, for containing liquid, the tube, B, screwed into the top of said cup and roughened by raised reading matter upon its external surface, and a porous wick placed in said cup and tube and projected beyond the latter, of a cap for preventing evaporation from the Wick, a rubber eraser, F, and a circumferential flange, b, at the bottom of the cup to attach the rubber eraser to the cup, all substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

4. The combination with the cup, A, for

containing liquid, the tube, B, screwed into the top of said. cup, a porous wick placed in said cup and tube and extended beyond the latter, and a'scraper-eraser, D, of a detachable cap, 0, for attaching said eraser to the tube and for preventing evaporation of liquid from the wick Within the latter, and a rubber eraser, F, attached to the bottom of the cup, all substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

5. The combination with the cup, A, for containing liquid, the tube, B, screwed into the top of said cup and roughened by raised reading matter upon its external surface, a porous wick placed in said cup and tube and extended beyond the latter, of a scrapereraser, D, a detachable cap, 0, for attaching said eraser to the tube and for preventing evaporation of liquid from the wick in said tube, and an annular rubber eraser, F, at the bottom of the cup, all substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

6. The combination with the cup, A, for containing liquid, the tube, B, screwed into the top of said cup and roughened by raised 

